UNC Chapel Hill drives local economy

A mid-year report on North Carolina’s economy shows the impact generated by spinouts and startups emerging out of UNC Chapel Hill is growing.

Author: Thierry Heles, editor

University of North Carolina (UNC) at Chapel Hill said on Wednesday that its spinouts and startups are having a growing economic impact on the US state’s ecosystem.

The analysis was undertaken as part of a biannual report released by Innovate Carolina, an innovation initiative through the vice-chancellor’s Office for Innovation, Entrepreneurship and Economic Development.

Innovate Carolina brings together more than 200 faculty, staff and students across campus to boost the local ecosystem and provide connections to incubators and investors.

The mid-year figures show that spinouts and startups – including those launched by alumni within three years of graduating from or leaving the university – account for a total of 63,914 employees, including 8,090 that remain in North Carolina.

Company generation has increased by 26% from 378 in June 2016 to 475 in June this year. A total of 85% of active ventures (306 out of 358) are headquartered in the US state, up from 283 at the same time a year ago.

Together, the businesses generate $10bn in annual revenue, with 99% of that amount earned by companies based in North Carolina.

The report drew particular attention to a few spinouts, such as oncology drug developer G1 Therapeutics, which raised approximately $108.6m in an IPO in May and 3D audio technology producer Impulsonic that was acquired by game distribution company Valve in January.

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